It is frequently desirable or necessary in performing dental diagnostic procedures to measure the occlusion, or points of contact, between a patient's teeth as the patient closes his or her jaws. Occlusion measurements are necessary in prescribing and fitting many dental appliances such as false teeth or orthodontic devices. Such measurements enable the user to determine where the teeth first contact each other, disclosing high spots and other useful information.
In order to provide an accurate measurement of the occlusion, an occlusal measuring device must be extremely thin so as not to perturb the normal dental alignment. A sensor must also have a very high resolution to provide useful information and distinguish between contact and non-contact points of the teeth. Additionally, a practical sensor must be safe for oral use and should be capable of being used by non-technical personel with minimal training.
To date, the types of occlusal sensors available to dentists for measuring occlusion have been limited. The most common method of measuring dental occlusion is by means of a piece of carbon-paper like material upon which a patient bites down. The points of contact are indicated by the deposit of a marking substance on the dental surfaces. This method is rapid to use and inexpensive, but provides limited information. The resolution is not very great, especially where complex dental interactions are involved, and there is no easy method to retain a permanent record in a patient's files for later comparison.
Another occlusal sensor uses a thin piece of plastic which is bitten to provide an imprint of the occlusion. The occlusion is read by illuminating the plastic with polarized light which indicates the points of contact by different colors. Disadvantages of this method include a relatively thick sensor, a high degree of training necessary to interpret the results, and a relatively complex procedure to create the imprint pattern.
Other methods exists for performing occlusal analysis, including X-rays and casts of a patient's bite, but these methods are expensive, time consuming, and in general are not suitable for large scale use in dental offices. A simple and inexpensive method of providing occlusal measurements which have a high resolution and which are capable of being permanently retained would be of great value to dentists and others concerned with occlusal measurements.